ABOUT

Navigators Global is a full-service issues management, government relations and strategic communications firm located in Washington, D.C. Our senior team members have advised Fortune 500 companies, governmental agencies, political candidates and some of the nation’s most prominent elected officials.

Founding Principals Phil Anderson, Jim Pitts and Cesar Conda formed Navigators Global to provide exclusive services to clients whose needs demand solutions beyond the reach of other firms. By creating an elite team of federal lobbyists, political strategists and communications experts, Navigators Global proudly offers a broad range of services, unrivaled performance and proven results.

ALL
LEADERSHIP
STAFF

Phil Anderson

Founding Principal and President

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Mr. Anderson held a series of policy and political positions on Capitol Hill, with the National Republican Party, and with the George H.W. Bush Administration, including serving as Special Assistant to Vice President Dan Quayle and Deputy Assistant to Republican National Committee Chairman Lee Atwater. He has over 20 years of experience advising corporations, industries and elected officials on public policy issues and has implemented successful public policy campaigns for over 30 different clients and coalitions.

Mr. Anderson formed the Financial Services Coordinating Council (FSCC), served as its executive director, and led it to important financial services legislative victories. He also revived an insurance industry building code coalition and – while serving as the coalition’s executive director – branded it as the BuildStrong Coalition, significantly grew its budget and membership, and positioned the group as the “go-to” organization for mitigation and building code policy at the federal level. As executive director of the Puerto Rico Fiscal Stability Coalition, Mr. Anderson succeeded in re-framing the discussion surrounding the Puerto Rico Chapter 9 Uniformity Act of 2015 and garnering conservative support for the bill by positioning it as the free market solution to Puerto Rico’s debt crisis. While leading the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) in its effort to defeat card check, Mr. Anderson successfully shifted the battle between unions and the CDW into a fight about secret ballots and workplace privacy, causing card check to die in the Senate.

Named one of Washington’s top lobbyists by The Hill, Mr. Anderson has also been a frequent media source with commentary appearing in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, National Journal, and Investment News. He has appeared on CBS 60 Minutes II, CNN, CNBC, FOX NEWS, and ABC.

In 2004, Mr. Anderson was selected to the advisory board of George Washington University’s Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet. Mr. Anderson is a graduate of Virginia Tech, where he serves as a guest lecturer on politics and advocacy.

Jim Pitts

Founding Principal

A veteran of five presidential campaigns, Jim Pitts brings more than 25 years of experience working at the highest levels in the White House and Congress, and directing federal lobbying and opinion leader campaigns. He specializes in several fields, including energy, tribal affairs, high-tech, homeland security, international relations, and overall public relations and policy strategies.

Mr. Pitts previously served as the executive director of the Financial Services Coordinating Council (FSCC). Prior to joining the FSCC, he served as chief of staff to U.S. Senator Spencer Abraham (R-MI). Mr. Pitts is a veteran of two former administrations, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, where he held a number of senior-level executive branch positions in the White House, Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Energy and the Department of Labor.

In 1995, he entered the world of journalism as deputy publisher of The Weekly Standard, helping to launch one of the nation’s most respected political opinion publications. Named one of the top Washington lobbyists by The Hill, Mr. Pitts has been a frequent media source on political events. His commentary has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, ABC News’ Nightline and C-SPAN’s Morning Journal.

Mr. Pitts is a graduate of the University of South Carolina.

Cesar Conda

Founding Principal and Policy Advisor

Cesar Conda, a founding principal of Navigators Global, returned to the firm after serving as the first chief of staff for U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). According to The Weekly Standard, Mr. Conda is “a well-known and highly regarded policy wonk, with experience in the executive branch as well as on Capitol Hill.”

Conda, who was named “Top Lobbyist” by the National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics in 2020 and 2021, has successfully represented such blue chip corporate and trade association clients as AT&T, Oracle, NextEra Energy, Microsoft, VISA USA, the Recording Industry Association of America, and the American Petroleum Institute, among others.

Mr. Conda served in the Bush-Cheney White House as Assistant to the Vice President for Domestic Policy, where he was “instrumental in devising the Bush tax cuts” according to columnist Robert Novak. He was an advisor to the presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney in 2008 and Bob Dole in 1996. Conda spent 18 years on Capitol Hill as a senior aide to three U.S. Senators, and was Republican staff director of the Senate Small Business Committee. Roll Call included Conda in its “Fabulous Fifty” list of the most powerful congressional staffers. In 1999, he received the “Congressional Staffer of the Year Award” from the Information Technology Industry Council. Prior to his Senate career, Conda was a tax lobbyist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Conda is a graduate of The College of William and Mary in Virginia.

Christopher Cox

Founding Principal

Chris Cox brings more than 25 years of legislative and political experience in senior positions in the White House and the U.S. House of Representatives. Most recently, Chris served in the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, having previously served President George W. Bush as special assistant for legislative affairs.

Over his two terms at the White House, Mr. Cox managed the House team and relationships with House leadership. He was responsible for executing the President’s legislative strategy through the first 5 months of the COVID crisis. For President Bush, Cox led on issues of taxation, international trade, defense, war on terror, intelligence, foreign policy and veterans’ affairs. He was an integral part of the lobbying campaigns that led to the signing into law of two tax bills, two supplemental appropriations bills, two cycles of defense appropriations and authorizations bills, and new authorization and appropriation of two major presidential initiatives – Global AIDS Relief and the Millennium Challenge Account.

An experienced hand in Congress, Mr. Cox served as chief of staff for U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-MI) and U.S. Representative Robin Hayes (R-NC). Prior to that, Mr. Cox served four years as legislative director for then-U.S. Representative and current U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA).

For each of the last ten years, Mr. Cox has been named one of Washington’s top lobbyists by The Hill. He received a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Illinois.

Andy Keiser

Senior Principal

Andy Keiser served for 14 years on Capitol Hill, including as Senior Advisor to the House Intelligence Committee and as Chief of Staff to its Chairman, former Congressman Mike Rogers from Michigan.

Mr. Keiser was also the head writer for a nationally syndicated radio program and assisted in the production of the CNN series Declassified.

Mr. Keiser is currently a Senior Principal at Navigators Global where he serves on the Executive Committee and leads clients on national security, intelligence, and telecommunications, technology, transportation and supply chain security issues.

Dubbed a “national security expert” by The Washington Post, Mr. Keiser is also a regular media commentator on national security and technology issues. He has been featured by media outlets including Fox News Channel, News Nation, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Real Clear Defense, Breaking Defense, and The Hill.

Mr. Keiser has a Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University and a Master of Arts from the United States Naval War College. He is an active scholar at the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, where he serves as a Senior Fellow and Guest Lecturer, and at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, where he also serves as a Senior Fellow.

Lori Kuhns

Senior Principal

Lori Kuhns joined Navigators Global in 2003 and oversees the firm’s business operations. Ms. Kuhns teams with the firm’s president and founding principal to facilitate the general administration and financial management of the firm.

Ms. Kuhns has over 20 years of experience in government relations project management, administrative services and event planning. Prior to joining Navigators Global, Ms. Kuhns served in a number of senior-level administrative positions in the financial services and insurance industry.

Ms. Kuhns attended Oklahoma State University and is an active volunteer for various political campaigns at the state and local levels.

Ryan Berger

Principal

Ryan Berger served as the Policy Director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He brings a wealth of campaign and policy experience to the Navigators government relations and issues management practices.

While at the NRSC, Mr. Berger helped expand the Republican Senate majority in 2018 under the leadership of Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) and other top officials. As Policy Director, Mr. Berger developed policy proposals and educated Senators, candidates, and campaign teams on federal issues and voter communication.

Mr. Berger has over 15 years of experience on Capitol Hill. He was a member of the Presidential Trump Transition team and served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for Senate Republican Conference Vice Chair Joni Ernst (R-IA). Previously, Mr. Berger served as Legislative Director for former Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Jeff Chiesa (R-NJ).

Mr. Berger received an M.A. from George Washington University and an undergraduate degree from Ohio University.

Mark Clark

Senior Advisor – Security, Defense & Space

Mark “Droopy” Clark, MajGen, USMC (Retired), most recently served as the special operations commander for Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command. Clark was the first Marine J3 at USSOCOM, with an extended assignment as the Chief of Staff and acting Deputy Commander.

A Brigadier General, Clark was previously assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps in the Pentagon as the Director of Plans, Strategy and International Engagement. During this period, he served as a member of the Inter-American Defense Board and his assignments with special operations ranged from the tactical level to the strategic. He was assigned to Theater Special Operations Command (Central), Combined Special Operations Task Force South in Afghanistan, and later to Combined Forces Special Operations Command Central in Qatar. As a Colonel he was assigned to the Campaign Support Group/Center for Special Operations which was newly established by US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to take the DOD lead for the global war on terrorism.

A native of South Dakota and Minnesota, Clark is a graduate of South Dakota State University. He received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in June 1981 upon completion of Officer Candidate School. In 1983, 2ndLT Clark was designated a naval aviator. As a CH-53E pilot stationed at Marine Corps Air Station New River, NC, he spent numerous assignments at various squadrons to include several Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) deployments. In 2007 he was designated an MV-22 Osprey pilot. As a Platoon Commander for 2d Brigade Platoon, 2d Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, Captain Clark was tasked with primary support to the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and involved training support with SOF and the British Royal Marines.

Natalie Enclade, Ph.D.

Senior Strategist

Prior to joining Navigators, Natalie Enclade previously served as the lead for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Financial Well-Being Program. She is currently the Executive Director of the BuildStrong Coalition.

In 2018, she was appointed as Director of Individual and Community Preparedness for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As Director, she oversaw programs that partner at all levels of government, the private sector, and community organizations to increase citizen and community preparedness and encourage the development of disaster resilience across the Nation.

Enclade has an established career in the field of public administration as a Chief Policy Advisor and Senior Program Analyst for the Federal government and a Policy Analyst for the State of Mississippi. In 2014 and 2017, she was selected as a DHS Office of Inspector General Fellow to serve as the subject matter expert in homeland security, cybersecurity, and emergency management for the United States Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. In this role, she was responsible for advising Committee and Senate leadership on Emergency Management, FEMA, Stafford Act, cybersecurity, and critical infrastructure policy and related matters, which included major pieces of legislation, such as the Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA), DHS Reauthorization Act, fire grants reauthorization, as well as various programmatic mandates.

Sarah Rogers

Principal

Sarah Rogers is a key member of the Navigators Global government relations and issues management practice. She brings a top tier legislative and political acumen from her extensive experience working in the private sector and public officials.

Ms. Rogers joined the Navigators team from Walmart, where she served as the Director of Federal Government Affairs for over six years. In that role, she led the company’s outreach efforts with U.S. House of Representatives Republican offices, advanced its extensive legislative priorities, collaborated with outside organizations such as coalitions and trade associations, and managed its federal labor relations and veterans’ portfolios.

An accomplished fixture in Congress, Ms. Rogers previously served as the Chief of Staff to Representative Patrick Meehan (R-PA). Her prior tenure also included roles with the offices of Representative Michael Conaway (R-TX) and then-Congressmen Randy Forbes (R-VA) and Curt Weldon (R-PA).

In addition to her public and private sector work, Ms. Rogers is a member of the Board of Trustees at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Greater DC-Maryland Chapter. She is a graduate of Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. Ms. Rogers lives in McLean, Virginia with her husband, John, and daughters, Grace and Claire.

Nick Sadoski

Vice President, National Security & Defense

As Vice President for National Security and Defense, Nick brings nearly two decades of experience designing and implementing successful congressional engagement and strategic communications initiatives across numerous roles.

In his most recent position with the Department of Defense, Nick served as the Director for External Affairs in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict. During his career at the Department of State, Nick served as the principal adviser on congressional affairs to numerous Assistant Secretaries of State and U.S. Ambassadors. Throughout his career, Nick’s congressional outreach efforts secured hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, expanded legal authorities to support policy priorities, and resulted in the confirmation of more than 60 Ambassadors and senior-level officials. An experienced media spokesperson and leader of public affairs teams, Nick managed crisis communications following terrorist attacks, political upheavals, and other time-sensitive and high-visibility situations. He has received numerous awards throughout his career across four Administrations, including the Joint Civilian Service Achievement Award for his work supporting Special Operations Command Africa.

Nick began his career as a field organizer for John Kerry during the 2004 presidential election. He served as an aide to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) prior to joining the State Department in 2007. Nick received his Master of Arts in Global Policy from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from Hobart College. He’s a proud native of Washington, D.C. where he lives with his wife and daughter.

John Tahsuda

Principal

John Tahsuda III, a member of the Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, was the former Senior Counselor to the Secretary of the Interior from September, 2020 to January 20, 2021. Prior to that appointment, Mr. Tahsuda served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs.

Previously, Mr. Tahsuda served as staff director of the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee, where he directed policy and legislative efforts relating to Indian tribes. He also was directly responsible for federal policy and legislation affecting gaming, federal recognition, self-governance, and Indian health care.

From 1991 to 2001, Mr. Tahsuda served as general counsel and legislative director of the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA), the Indian gaming industry’s trade association, where he monitored legislation and policy issues affecting the organization’s 180 member tribes and assisted them in their lobbying efforts.

Mr. Tahsuda received a juris doctorate from Cornell Law School in 1993 and a Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State University in 1990. He is the proud father of triplets.

Thomas Trask

Senior Advisor – Security, Defense & Space

After over 30 years in the United States Air Force, General Thomas Trask joined Navigators as the senior strategist for the Security, Defense & Space Practice. Most recently, General Trask served as Vice Commander of the Headquarters U.S. Special Operations Command, in which role he was responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing actions with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Services and other government agencies in the National Capital Region on behalf of the Commander USSOCOM. During his service, General Trask also worked with the White House and Congress to ensure appropriations for special operations were utilized effectively and with minimal risk to special operators.

General Trask’s expertise is highly valued within the national security and defense sector. In addition to his role at Navigators, he serves as a Director for CAE USA Mission Solutions, is a member of the Military Advisory Board for FLIR Inc., serves as Senior Fellow for the Center for Naval Analysis in Arlington, Virginia, and is a member of the Professional Advisory Board for the College of Security and Intelligence at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona.

General Trask has a Bachelor’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Master’s degrees in international relations from Troy State University, in national security and strategic studies from Naval War College, and in airpower art and science from the School of Advanced Airpower Studies.

Tim Hagood

Vice President, Communications and Advocacy

Tim Hagood produces a variety of compelling written communications, including press releases, marketing collateral, and client support materials. He also engages in various research projects and provides support to business operations.

Prior to joining Navigators, Mr. Hagood served as the in-house publicist for a small press publisher in Richmond, Virginia.

Mr. Hagood is a graduate of James Madison University in Virginia.

Ado A. Machida

Senior Strategist

Prior to joining Navigators, Ado Machida served as the Director of Policy Implementation for the Trump Transition effort. In this role, he was responsible for managing the advancement of Day 1/Day 100/Day 200 action plans for the Trump Administration. Mr. Machida and his team developed over two hundred Executive Orders, Secretarial Guidance, regulatory change, and legislative proposals to achieve the campaign promises then-Candidate Donald J. Trump articulated. In addition, Mr. Machida briefed Secretary-nominees on policy issues and guided them through the confirmation process.

Mr. Machida previously served as Chief Domestic Policy Officer for Vice President Cheney and as Assistant to the Republican Leader, Senator Bob Dole. He is also the past President of the International Stability Operations Association, which represented 50+ corporate members to both the Executive and Legislative branches. Additionally, Mr. Machida is the former Vice President of Government Relations at defense manufacturer BAE Systems.

Mr. Machida is bilingual in English and Japanese and possesses law degrees from Kyoto University and New York University Law School. He also attended Columbia University and Harvard Business School. Mr. Machida resides in Northern Virginia with his wife of 20 years, their six children, and their family dog.